Ohio Disorderly Conduct and Criminal Trespass Laws (2026)

Ohio's disorderly conduct statute, Revised Code 2917.11, makes it an offense to recklessly cause inconvenience, annoyance or alarm to another by fighting, unreasonable noise, provoking taunts, blocking movement or creating a dangerous or offensive condition, and separately covers certain conduct while voluntarily intoxicated. In most cases it is a minor misdemeanor, with a fine of up to $150; it becomes a fourth-degree misdemeanor (up to 30 days and $250) if the person keeps going after a warning, acts near a school, or acts in front of police, firefighters or other emergency workers on duty at an emergency scene or in an emergency facility.

Criminal trespass under R.C. 2911.21 is a fourth-degree misdemeanor in its ordinary forms and a first-degree misdemeanor on a critical infrastructure facility, which includes any railroad property. Trespass becomes a felony only through separate offenses: aggravated trespass on critical infrastructure with purpose to destroy or tamper (third degree), criminal trespass on a railroad vehicle that causes the harm the statute lists (fourth to second degree), trespass in a habitation when a person is present or likely to be present (fourth degree), breaking and entering (fifth degree) and burglary (third or second degree). For other states, see our guide to disorderly conduct and trespass laws by state.

Information last verified on 2026-10-18. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers Ohio's state statutes on disorderly conduct and related public-order offenses (R.C. Chapter 2917 and related sections), criminal trespass and its felony forms (R.C. Chapter 2911 and related sections), and hunting trespass under R.C. 1533.17. It does not cover city or village ordinances, local noise rules and quiet hours (see Ohio noise ordinance laws), the civil procedure for removing squatters (see Ohio squatters' rights), use of force against an intruder (see Ohio self-defense laws), civil trespass lawsuits or federal property rules.

What is disorderly conduct in Ohio?

R.C. 2917.11 has two parts. Division (A) applies to anyone; division (B) applies only to a person who is voluntarily intoxicated.

The five forms in division (A)

Division (A) begins: "No person shall recklessly cause inconvenience, annoyance, or alarm to another by doing any of the following." The five forms are:

1. Engaging in fighting, in threatening harm to persons or property, or in violent or turbulent behavior.
2. "Making unreasonable noise or an offensively coarse utterance, gesture, or display or communicating unwarranted and grossly abusive language to any person."
3. Insulting, taunting or challenging another, "under circumstances in which that conduct is likely to provoke a violent response."
4. Hindering or preventing the movement of persons on a public street, road, highway or right-of-way, or to, from, within or upon public or private property, so as to interfere with the rights of others, and by any act that serves no lawful and reasonable purpose of the offender.
5. Creating a condition that is physically offensive to persons or that presents a risk of physical harm to persons or property, by any act that serves no lawful and reasonable purpose of the offender.

The mental state for every division (A) form is recklessness. The noise wording is one line of the statute; local quiet hours and decibel rules are covered on our Ohio noise ordinance laws page. Fighting can also overlap with assault offenses, covered on our Ohio assault and battery laws page.

Disorderly conduct while intoxicated

Chapter 2917 has no stand-alone public intoxication offense. Instead, division (B) of 2917.11 provides that no person, while voluntarily intoxicated, shall:

• in a public place or in the presence of two or more persons, engage in conduct likely to be offensive or to cause inconvenience, annoyance or alarm to persons of ordinary sensibilities, which conduct the offender, if not intoxicated, should know is likely to have that effect; or
• engage in conduct or create a condition that presents a risk of physical harm to the offender or another, or to the property of another.

Division (D) provides that if a person appears to an ordinary observer to be intoxicated, that is probable cause to believe the person is voluntarily intoxicated for purposes of division (B). Division (C) provides that violating a statute or ordinance with an element of operating a vehicle, locomotive, watercraft or aircraft under the influence is not a violation of division (B).

Penalty: minor misdemeanor, or fourth degree

Under 2917.11(E)(2), disorderly conduct is a minor misdemeanor except as divisions (E)(3) and (E)(4) provide. R.C. 2929.28(A)(2)(a)(v) caps the fine for a minor misdemeanor at $150. R.C. 2929.24(A) sets jail terms only for first- through fourth-degree misdemeanors and lists none for a minor misdemeanor. For an offense the Revised Code does not specifically classify, R.C. 2901.02(G) makes it a minor misdemeanor when its only possible penalty is a fine of up to $150, community service or another financial sanction.

Disorderly conduct is a fourth-degree misdemeanor under 2917.11(E)(3) if any of these applies:

• the offender persists in disorderly conduct after reasonable warning or request to desist;
• the offense is committed in the vicinity of a school or in a school safety zone;
• the offense is committed in the presence of any law enforcement officer, firefighter, rescuer, medical person, emergency medical services person or other authorized person engaged in duties at the scene of a fire, accident, disaster, riot or emergency of any kind; or
• the offense is committed in the presence of an emergency facility person engaged in duties in an emergency facility.

Division (E)(4) adds a repeat-offender rule for the intoxication form only: if the offender has previously been convicted of or pleaded guilty to three or more violations of division (B), a new division (B) violation is a fourth-degree misdemeanor. A fourth-degree misdemeanor carries up to 30 days (2929.24(A)(4)) and a fine of up to $250 (2929.28(A)(2)(a)(iv)). Disorderly conduct by itself is never a felony; group conduct can become riot or aggravated riot under separate sections (below).

R.C. 2935.26(A) sets a citation rule for minor misdemeanors: when an officer is otherwise authorized to arrest a person for a minor misdemeanor, "the officer shall not arrest the person, but shall issue a citation," unless the offender requires medical care or is unable to provide for their own safety, cannot or will not offer satisfactory evidence of identity, refuses to sign the citation, or previously failed to appear or comply on a citation for that misdemeanor.

How the courts have read the speech wording

The Ohio Supreme Court narrowed the speech wording of division (A)(2) in State v. Hoffman, 57 Ohio St.2d 129 (1979). The court held:

"a person may not be punished under R. C. 2917.11(A)(2) for 'recklessly caus[ing] inconvenience, annoyance, or alarm to another,' by making an 'offensively coarse utterance,' or 'communicating unwarranted and grossly abusive language to any person,' unless the words spoken are likely, by their very utterance, to inflict injury or provoke the average person to an immediate retaliatory breach of the peace."

Hoffman limited the statute by construction rather than striking it down, and it reversed the court of appeals and sent the case back to the trial court. Its holding reaches only the offensively-coarse-utterance and grossly-abusive-language wording as applied to speech. It did not address the unreasonable-noise wording or the other divisions of 2917.11. Division (A)(3), on insults and taunts, carries its own condition in the text: the conduct must be likely to provoke a violent response.

On the noise wording, the Ninth District Court of Appeals held in State v. Carrick, 2010-Ohio-6451, that the "unreasonable noise" clause of 2917.11(A)(2) is not unconstitutionally vague, because it "incorporates the objective standard of a reasonable person," and is not overbroad, because it restricts the manner of expression "without respect to content." Carrick is an intermediate appellate decision on the noise wording only.

Related public-order offenses in Ohio

Chapter 2917 contains no separate "breach of the peace" or "disturbing the peace" offense, no affray offense and no general loitering or public-camping offense. The main offenses that sit beside disorderly conduct are these; the list is not the whole chapter.

Riot, aggravated riot and failure to disperse

• Riot (2917.03) is participating with four or more others in a course of disorderly conduct with purpose to commit a misdemeanor other than disorderly conduct, to intimidate a public official or obstruct a function of government, or to disrupt an educational institution, or participating with four or more others with purpose to do an act with unlawful force or violence. It is a first-degree misdemeanor: up to 180 days and $1,000.
• Aggravated riot (2917.02) is participating with four or more others in a course of disorderly conduct with purpose to commit a felony, with purpose to commit an offense of violence, or when a participant has or intends to use a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance. It is a fifth-degree felony for the felony-purpose and weapon forms and a fourth-degree felony for the offense-of-violence form. For an inmate in a detention facility, the felony-purpose and weapon forms are a fourth-degree felony, and the offense-of-violence form or ordinary riot is a third-degree felony.
• Failure to disperse (2917.04) applies where five or more persons are participating in a course of disorderly conduct and others nearby create a likelihood of physical harm or serious public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm; an officer may order everyone to disperse, and no person shall knowingly fail to obey. The section states that it does not require persons "who are peaceably assembled for a lawful purpose" to disperse. It is a minor misdemeanor, or a fourth-degree misdemeanor if the failure creates a likelihood of physical harm to persons or occurs at the scene of a fire, accident, disaster, riot or emergency.
• Inciting to violence (2917.01) is knowingly urging or inciting another to commit an offense of violence, where the conduct creates a clear and present danger that one will be committed or actually results in one. It is a first-degree misdemeanor if the urged offense is a misdemeanor, and a third-degree felony if it is a felony.

Meetings, worship and funerals

• Disturbing a lawful meeting (2917.12) is obstructing or interfering with a lawful meeting, procession or gathering, or making an utterance, gesture or display that outrages the sensibilities of the group, with purpose to prevent or disrupt it. It is a fourth-degree misdemeanor, and a first-degree misdemeanor when, among other circumstances, it is committed with intent to disturb or disquiet an assemblage met for religious worship at a tax-exempt place of worship.
• Funeral and burial picketing (3767.30) bars picketing or other protest activities "within three hundred feet of any residence, cemetery, funeral home, church, synagogue, or other establishment during or within one hour before or one hour after the conducting of an actual funeral or burial service at that place," and within 300 feet of any funeral procession. "Other protest activities" means any action that is disruptive or undertaken to disrupt or disturb a funeral, burial service or procession. Under R.C. 3767.99, a natural person who violates it commits a third-degree misdemeanor (up to 60 days and $500), and an association a fourth-degree misdemeanor.

Emergencies

• Misconduct at an emergency (2917.13) includes knowingly hampering police, firefighters, rescuers or emergency medical workers at the scene of a fire, accident, disaster, riot or emergency. It is a fourth-degree misdemeanor, or a first-degree misdemeanor if it creates a risk of physical harm to persons or property.
• Unlawfully impeding public passage of an emergency service responder (2917.14) is recklessly obstructing a highway, street, sidewalk or other public passage, without privilege, so that it blocks an emergency vehicle or responder, and refusing a responder's request or order to remove or cease the obstruction. It is a first-degree misdemeanor.
• Misconduct involving a public transportation system (2917.41) covers fare evasion, altering fare media, playing sound equipment without an earphone, eating, drinking or smoking where marked as prohibited, spitting, marking transit property, and failing to obey a transit police officer's lawful order. It ranges from a minor misdemeanor to a third-degree misdemeanor by division.

False alarms, inducing panic and swatting

• Inducing panic (2917.31) is causing the evacuation of a public place, or other serious public inconvenience or alarm, by a knowingly false report or warning of a fire, explosion, crime or other catastrophe, by threatening an offense of violence, or by committing an offense with reckless disregard of that risk. It is a first-degree misdemeanor. It is a fourth-degree felony if it results in physical harm; a fifth-, fourth- or third-degree felony by economic harm ($1,000, $7,500 and $150,000 thresholds); a fourth-degree felony when it involves a purported, threatened or actual weapon of mass destruction (third degree with physical harm or economic harm of $100,000 or more); and a second-degree felony when the public place in a false-report case is a school or an institution of higher education.
• Making false alarms (2917.32) is a knowingly false report or warning of a fire, explosion, crime or other catastrophe likely to cause public inconvenience or alarm or to impede a critical infrastructure facility, knowingly causing a false fire or emergency alarm, or reporting an offense to police knowing it did not occur. It is a first-degree misdemeanor, a fifth-, fourth- or third-degree felony by economic harm ($1,000, $7,500 and $150,000 thresholds), and a third-degree felony when it involves a purported, threatened or actual weapon of mass destruction.
• Swatting (2917.321) is knowingly reporting false or misleading information to police, an emergency service provider or a public safety answering point by phone or other telecommunications, with reckless disregard of whether the response may cause bodily harm, where the report is reasonably likely to cause, and does cause, an emergency response. It is a fourth-degree felony, or a second-degree felony if anyone suffers serious physical harm.
• Division (A)(1) of 2917.31 and all of 2917.32 do not apply to a person conducting an authorized fire or emergency drill, and 2917.321 does not apply to a person conducting an authorized emergency drill.

Curfews and loitering

R.C. 505.89 allows township trustees to adopt a curfew for persons under 18 in unincorporated areas; a minor who violates it "shall be charged as being an unruly child" in juvenile court. Loitering to engage in solicitation (R.C. 2907.241), soliciting sexual activity for hire in or near a public place by beckoning, stopping or engaging people, is a third-degree misdemeanor. A violation committed with knowledge of a positive HIV test is a fifth-degree felony. During an election, R.C. 3501.35(A)(1) bars loitering, congregating or campaigning between a polling place and the small U.S. flags placed on the approaches to it, and within ten feet of any voter in a line that extends beyond the flags. Separately, R.C. 3599.24(A)(5) makes it a first-degree misdemeanor to loiter in or about a polling place so as to hinder, delay or interfere with the election.

Criminal trespass in Ohio

Ohio has one general criminal trespass statute, R.C. 2911.21, with five forms rather than numbered degrees. Each begins "No person, without privilege to do so, shall ..." The higher grades and felonies are separate sections.

When you are told to leave

Division (A)(4) is the told-to-leave offense: being on the land or premises of another, a person may not "negligently fail or refuse to leave upon being notified by signage posted in a conspicuous place or otherwise being notified to do so by the owner or occupant, or the agent or servant of either." It is a fourth-degree misdemeanor.

A posted no-firearms sign works through the same division. Under R.C. 2923.126(C)(3)(a), a person who knowingly violates such a posted prohibition is guilty of criminal trespass under 2911.21(A)(4), a fourth-degree misdemeanor, but not if the posted land or premises "primarily was a parking lot or other parking facility."

The five forms of criminal trespass

Without privilege to do so, no person shall:

1. knowingly enter or remain on the land or premises of another (2911.21(A)(1));
2. knowingly enter or remain on land or premises whose use is lawfully restricted to certain persons, purposes, modes or hours, knowing they are in violation of the restriction or being reckless about it ((A)(2));
3. recklessly enter or remain on land or premises "as to which notice against unauthorized access or presence is given by actual communication to the offender, or in a manner prescribed by law, or by posting in a manner reasonably calculated to come to the attention of potential intruders, or by fencing or other enclosure manifestly designed to restrict access" ((A)(3));
4. negligently fail or refuse to leave after notice by conspicuous signage or by the owner, occupant or their agent ((A)(4)); or
5. knowingly enter or remain on a critical infrastructure facility ((A)(5)).

Forms (A)(1) through (A)(4) are fourth-degree misdemeanors: up to 30 days and $250. Form (A)(5) is a first-degree misdemeanor: up to 180 days and $1,000 (2911.21(D)(1)).

"Land or premises" in this section includes "any land, building, structure, or place belonging to, controlled by, or in custody of another, and any separate enclosure or room, or portion thereof" (2911.21(F)(2)). The section also provides that it is no defense that the property was owned or controlled by a public agency, and no defense that the offender's authorization to enter or remain was secured by deception (2911.21(B), (C)).

What counts as notice, and is there a purple paint law?

Ohio's criminal trespass statute (R.C. 2911.21) contains no purple paint provision. The notice methods in 2911.21(A)(3) are actual communication, "a manner prescribed by law," posting "reasonably calculated to come to the attention of potential intruders," and fencing or other enclosure "manifestly designed to restrict access," and (A)(4) adds conspicuous signage or being told to leave. None of these is a paint mark, and the statute sets no sign size or spacing. Form (A)(1), knowingly entering or remaining without privilege, contains no notice element in its text.

Off-road vehicles

If the person used a snowmobile, off-highway motorcycle or all-purpose vehicle in committing criminal trespass, the court "shall impose a fine of two times the usual amount" (2911.21(D)(2)). After two or more prior trespass convictions or guilty pleas each involving such a vehicle, the court may also impound the vehicle's registration (and, for an all-purpose vehicle, its license plate) for at least 60 days ((D)(3)).

Critical infrastructure and railroad property

A "critical infrastructure facility" under 2911.21(F)(4) covers three groups:

• nineteen listed facility types, such as petroleum or alumina refineries, electric generating facilities, substations and transmission lines, and mining operations, but only "if completely enclosed by a fence or other physical barrier that is obviously designed to exclude intruders, or if clearly marked with signs that are reasonably likely to come to the attention of potential intruders and that indicate entry is forbidden without site authorization";
• "any railroad property," which carries no fence or sign condition on the face of the statute; and
• electronic assets of listed operators.

Knowingly entering or remaining on such a facility is the first-degree misdemeanor form of criminal trespass. Aggravated trespass under R.C. 2911.211(A)(2), entering or remaining on a critical infrastructure facility "with purpose to destroy or tamper with the facility," is a third-degree felony. R.C. 2923.04(B) separately bars an organization from knowingly directing, authorizing, facilitating, encouraging or paying a person to commit the critical-infrastructure forms of criminal trespass or aggravated trespass. The penalty is a fine of ten times the maximum fine an individual faces for the underlying offense (2923.04(C)).

Climbing on trains is its own offense. Under R.C. 2909.10(B), no person without privilege may climb upon or into a locomotive, engine, railroad car or other railroad vehicle on a track. That is a first-degree misdemeanor, rising to a fourth-degree felony if it causes serious physical harm to property or creates a substantial risk of physical harm to a person, a third-degree felony if it causes physical harm to a person, and a second-degree felony if it causes serious physical harm to a person.

Other special trespass offenses

• Aggravated trespass (2911.211(A)(1)): entering or remaining on another's land or premises with purpose to commit a misdemeanor involving physical harm, or causing a person to believe the offender will cause physical harm. First-degree misdemeanor. When the victim was a family or household member, a prior aggravated trespass conviction also makes a later domestic violence offense under R.C. 2919.25(A) or (B) a fourth-degree felony, or a third-degree felony after two or more such prior offenses (2919.25(D)(3), (D)(4)).
• Criminal trespass on a place of public amusement (2911.23): knowingly entering or remaining on a restricted portion of a place of public amusement, after printed written notice that the public is restricted, and thereby interrupting or delaying the performance, sporting event or other activity. First-degree misdemeanor.
• Agricultural products and equipment (901.511): committing criminal trespass, breaking and entering or certain property offenses involving agricultural products or equipment, with intent to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, to influence government policy by intimidation or coercion, to affect the conduct of government, or to interfere with agricultural production or research in order to disrupt or influence consumer confidence or agricultural production methods, is graded one degree higher than the most serious underlying offense on a first offense (R.C. 901.99(E)).
• Reporting facilities (3752.14): entering or remaining without privilege on the premises of a hazardous-chemical reporting facility posted with the required warning signs is a separate offense; the section states that it "is not criminal trespass under section 2911.21." A reckless violation is a first-degree misdemeanor, and each day is a separate offense (R.C. 3752.99(B)).

Hunting on private land

Ohio uses written permission, not posting, for hunting. R.C. 1533.17(A) bars hunting or trapping on the lands, ponds, lakes or private waters of another, or shooting, catching, killing, injuring or pursuing wild birds or animals there, "without obtaining written permission from the owner or the owner's authorized agent." Division (C) requires the hunter to carry the permission and show it on request to a wildlife officer or other law enforcement officer, or to the owner or agent. Under R.C. 1533.99(A), a violation is a third-degree misdemeanor on a first offense and a second-degree misdemeanor on each later offense or when the offender persists after reasonable warning or request to desist.

Felony trespass: habitations, breaking and entering, burglary

• Trespass in a habitation when a person is present or likely to be present (2911.12(B), (E)): by force, stealth or deception, trespassing in a permanent or temporary habitation of any person when someone other than an accomplice is present or likely to be present. Fourth-degree felony. It requires no purpose to commit another offense.
• Breaking and entering (2911.13): by force, stealth or deception, trespassing in an unoccupied structure with purpose to commit a theft offense or any felony, or trespassing on another's land or premises with purpose to commit a felony. Fifth-degree felony.
• Burglary (2911.12(A)): by force, stealth or deception, trespassing in an occupied structure with purpose to commit any criminal offense there. It is a second-degree felony when another person other than an accomplice is present (or, in a habitation, present or likely to be present) ((A)(1), (A)(2)), and a third-degree felony otherwise ((A)(3)). Purpose to commit an offense is what separates burglary from the trespass offenses.

Squatting

The trespass statutes apply to anyone who knowingly enters or remains on another's land or premises without privilege. The civil process for removing occupants is covered on our Ohio squatters' rights page, and questions about force against an intruder are covered on our Ohio self-defense laws page.

Penalties at a glance

The ranges come from Ohio's general sentencing sections. R.C. 2929.24(A) sets jail terms of up to 180 days for a first-degree misdemeanor, 90 days for a second-degree, 60 days for a third-degree and 30 days for a fourth-degree misdemeanor, and 2929.28(A)(2)(a) caps the fines at $1,000, $750, $500 and $250, and at $150 for a minor misdemeanor. For felonies, R.C. 2929.14(A) sets definite prison terms of 9 to 36 months for third-degree felonies other than those listed in 2929.14(A)(3)(a), 6 to 18 months for the fourth degree and 6 to 12 months for the fifth degree, and 2929.18(A)(3) caps the fines at $10,000, $5,000 and $2,500. A second-degree felony carries an indefinite prison term with a minimum of 2 to 8 years (2929.14(A)(2)(a)) and a fine of up to $15,000. For the full class table, see Ohio felony and misdemeanor classes.

Recent changes and pending bills

• R.C. 2917.11 was last amended by House Bill 96 (132nd General Assembly), effective March 22, 2019.
• R.C. 2911.21, 2911.211, 2909.10 and 2923.04 took their current form effective April 12, 2021, through Senate Bill 33 (133rd General Assembly).
• R.C. 2917.12, disturbing a lawful meeting, took its current form effective April 4, 2023, and R.C. 2917.14, impeding an emergency responder, effective October 3, 2023 (House Bill 33, 135th General Assembly).
• R.C. 2917.321, swatting, was enacted effective April 3, 2023 (House Bill 462, 134th General Assembly), and R.C. 2917.31, inducing panic, took its current form effective October 3, 2023 (House Bill 33, 135th General Assembly).
• R.C. 2935.26, the minor-misdemeanor citation rule, took its current form effective April 9, 2025 (House Bill 29, 135th General Assembly), and R.C. 1533.99, the hunting-trespass penalty section, effective March 20, 2025.
• Pending, not law: House Bill 236 (136th General Assembly) would amend 2911.21 and 2917.02 to prohibit masked trespassing and masked harassment; it is in House committee. House Bill 252 (136th General Assembly) would modify burglary, aggravated burglary and trespass in a habitation; it passed the House and was referred to a Senate committee. Neither has been enacted, and the statutes described above are the ones in force.

Federal law separately governs conduct on federal property and at the U.S. Capitol; our disorderly conduct and trespass laws by state guide covers that layer.

Related Ohio and state-by-state guides

• Disorderly conduct and trespass laws by state
• Ohio noise ordinance laws
• Ohio felony and misdemeanor classes
• Ohio squatters' rights
• Ohio self-defense laws
• Ohio assault and battery laws
• Pennsylvania disorderly conduct and trespass laws
• How to charge someone with trespassing

This article provides general legal information about Ohio's disorderly conduct, public-order and criminal trespass statutes as of 2026-10-18. It is not legal advice. For advice about a specific situation, contact a lawyer licensed in Ohio.

Last updated: 2026-10-18.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is disorderly conduct in Ohio?

Under R.C. 2917.11(A), it is recklessly causing inconvenience, annoyance or alarm to another by fighting or threatening harm, unreasonable noise or grossly abusive language, taunting likely to provoke a violent response, hindering people's movement, or creating a physically offensive or dangerous condition. Division (B) covers similar conduct while voluntarily intoxicated.

Is disorderly conduct a misdemeanor in Ohio?

Yes, but in most cases it is a minor misdemeanor with a fine of up to $150 (R.C. 2917.11(E)(2), 2929.28). It is a fourth-degree misdemeanor, up to 30 days and $250, after a warning to desist, near a school, or in front of emergency workers on duty.

Can you get disorderly conduct for swearing in Ohio?

In State v. Hoffman (1979), the Ohio Supreme Court held that a person may not be punished under the offensively-coarse-utterance or grossly-abusive-language wording of R.C. 2917.11(A)(2) unless the words are likely, by their very utterance, to inflict injury or provoke the average person to an immediate retaliatory breach of the peace.

Is public intoxication illegal in Ohio?

Chapter 2917 has no stand-alone public intoxication offense. R.C. 2917.11(B) makes it disorderly conduct, while voluntarily intoxicated, to engage in offensive conduct in public or in front of two or more people, or to create a risk of physical harm; it is a minor misdemeanor unless an escalation rule applies.

Is criminal trespass a felony in Ohio?

Criminal trespass under R.C. 2911.21 is a misdemeanor: fourth degree, or first degree on a critical infrastructure facility. Felony forms are separate offenses, including aggravated trespass to destroy or tamper with critical infrastructure (third degree) and trespass in a habitation when a person is present or likely to be present (fourth degree).

What happens if a store tells you to leave in Ohio?

R.C. 2911.21(A)(4) makes it criminal trespass, a fourth-degree misdemeanor, to negligently fail or refuse to leave after being notified by signage posted in a conspicuous place or by the owner, occupant or their agent.

Does Ohio have a purple paint law?

Ohio's criminal trespass statute (R.C. 2911.21) contains no purple paint provision. It lists notice by actual communication, a manner prescribed by law, posting reasonably calculated to come to the attention of potential intruders, fencing or enclosure, and conspicuous signage. None is a paint mark, and the statute sets no sign size or spacing.

Is trespassing on railroad tracks illegal in Ohio?

Yes. Any railroad property counts as a critical infrastructure facility under R.C. 2911.21(F)(4)(c), so knowingly entering or remaining on it without privilege is a first-degree misdemeanor. Climbing onto a train on a track is a separate offense under R.C. 2909.10(B).

Do you need permission to hunt on private land in Ohio?

Yes. R.C. 1533.17 requires written permission from the owner or authorized agent, carried while hunting. A violation is a third-degree misdemeanor on a first offense and a second-degree misdemeanor for later offenses or persisting after a warning (R.C. 1533.99).